Honestly every year cost us about $800-900$ for our lil girls bday party. We invite family from both sides and also friends from work. The pinata alone cost us 300/350 since we put candies and toys then comes food tables chairs jumber and gift.
@@angelgarza3937 We bought a small jump house for under $200 and the chairs and tables all under $200 also so we only have to buy food and party favors for the next few years when we celebrate at home. So much nicer that way! Parties can get extravagant. As long as you can afford it though. ☺ God bless
I spend an embarrassing amount of money on my kids' gifts, party decorations, food, & favors but it is my hobby. I loooove the planning!! My older kids love the memories from their parties. I make a lot of things & that gets spendy too. I also get things at yard sales & thrift stores. It's fun for me. There are a ton of frugal party ideas & kids don't care if they have homemade cakes & dollar store balloons or a $90 three tier cake cake & a petting zoo... Just as long as you make them feel special. That being said.. Do what works best for you & yours & have fun.
Morena Suarez I think if you want a detailed party and want to save money, the best way to go is start planning 6+ months in advance. That way you can pick up little things here and there and not have to buy everything at once. Keep an eye out for things at yard sales and thrift stores. Also, check out Pinterest for decorating ideas. I've gotten sooo many comments just by decorating with streamers, balloons, table cloths and tissue paper. Takes a long to to get everything put up but they really go a long way if you want them to, and they're super cheap! I decorated the day before, even two days before. I've made a huge castle out of cardboard boxes, a rainbow canopy, giant flowers, balloon arches, my own pinatas, games, and lots more. Use your imagination & creativity. Or Pinterest lol. Have fun!!
jacintamrsdarcy hey there! I also love planning my future too! I like to plan what I should buy, plan how I should spend my summer, and some other things that your probably plan. It's good to know that there are so people like me in the world.
When I was little my mom always made a homemade chocolate double layer cake for my birthday. We just had the cake after supper as a family. Once we were older mom started buying store bought cakes and it just wasn't the same. I was happier having mom's homemade cake.
Watching this as I blow up my dollar store balloons for my daughter's first at home birthday party tomorrow.. and I finished making her cake yesterday! 😄 I personally think good ol' traditional birthday parties at the birthday boy's/girl's home are the most memorable and enjoyable for the kiddos. I've been over thinking activities to do with them.. and I realized they'll probably just play with the stuff we have (bikes/scooters in the basement, marble runs, dress up clothes etc.).
Tawra and Jill, I absolutely love this video with all my heart. I had the best birthday parties as a young girl and my mom threw me them similar to what you're talking about. They were simple, sweet, and filled with lots of love. Looking back I see all the effort she put in to make a special day for me on our family's tight budget. I never felt slighted and in fact have more appreciation for her creativeness with little money. ...best birthday memories ever 💕
My son is a single father living on a budget and we are planning a low cost but fun party, I bake cakes better than any store around us can make and I agree you do not have to spend a bunch of money to make children happy..This year we are using your treasure hunt idea..thank you!
So incredibly helpful!! Ive been so over stressed about this and feeling like my $$$$ wasnt enough, but yall brought me back down to earth. Thanks a million!
I never spent large amounts of money on my kids bday parties when they were small. I normally went to Dollar Tree for party supplies such as balloons, streamers, wrapping paper etc, got an inexpensive cake (whatever was on sale in the bakery or made it myself), and then served fun kid food like hotdogs, homemade pizza, punch etc
I totally agree with you!! I have two children and I can't afford making them an expensive party every year... I do invite 35 kids and I give them ham sandwiches and a piñata I don't fill their goodie bags they do with what they get from the piñata... And I also get everything from the dollar stores and dollar tree has really good decorations and a variety of balloons and I spend $50 and it's a 3 hr party
My mom just passed out cupcakes in class and that was our party. My sisters and I use to love it! My son is turning 1next week and if I can spend $20 on it you are my new best friend.
I love your point of view. Thank you so much for sharing. It's true, children don't have a good sense of money nor do they really care how much is spent. It's all about how much FUN they had. We, as parents should not get "stucked in" having a very expensive party. We need to have a BACK Bone and stand firm on this. God bless you all.
Love it! I totally agree. And, our older, adult kids are not emotionally scarred from having inexpensive birthday celebrations. They are pretty well adjusted men.
I love how all your advice is partnered with helpful tips. I'm not a great saver or the best at conserving but (I won't tell you the embarrassing amount I spent on my kids 4th birthday this year) I don't feel judged I feel helped and supported. Thank you!
100% agree with you on this, I think it's utterly silly what some parents spend on kids parties. We need to go back to the old days of kids parties and stop over spending on things x
I love the video, I agree you can have a great party for kids on a small amount of money. I think a lot of parents do up some of these parties for show, for themselves not for the kids !
I couldn't agree more. Of the few birthday parties I had for my 4 kids I did most of it with what was on hand. I cooked everything we had myself ( I did it all the time anyway ) with the exception of a 16th birthday and between my two girls they invited around 30 kids from school. They had a ball! It was centred around music, I was the dj and we had a playlist and did requests. They each had a Mud Cake and Pizza! I loved it and so did they!
Thank you for sharing.. hosting a lot of people and spending hundreds of dollars isn't always worth it.. My little boy is more excited to have a modest birthday with his 2 siblings and us (parents) with a homemade cake, dollar store decor, their stuffys in party hats, and a gift 🎁 We did a huge birthday party back to back 1 month apart for my daughter and son and we learned our lesson real quick, some of our guests (family) even had some negative comments and it was not as fun as we anticipated because all you do is host, entertain and clean all day... I'm happy being on a budget and our family is happier living a more simple & meaningful time. Milestone birthdays may be more extravagant but that's a decision on each family and very personal how it's celebrated.
You certainly don't have to spend a lot on birthday parties...buuuut... I spent an average of $200 to $300 on both of my children's parties. But I saved up for it throughout the year for these parties. I also bout things for the parties during the year. My son was born 2 weeks after Halloween ad my daughter was born 2 weeks after Valentine's day... so I would go out the day after the holiday and get the candy for 50 to 75% off for their pinatas, party supplies were on huge discounts tool. We would have an average of 30+ people.I owuldn't have changed any of them for anything. These were events everyone looked forward to .
I do agree this can work for kids probably 5 and under. Once they start getting older they are more aware of what they want and will get bored easily. My daughter is turning 8 and she special requests her unicorn decor birthday and wants jumpy houses or destination birthdays like chuckee cheese. My other son is the same, I mentioned a Park Birthday party when he was 8 or 9 and he looked at me crazy! He said the park is boring for a Birthday. Some might think that sounds spoiled...but realistically my kids go to the park with friends all during the year, we go to movies and restaurants. We live in California with lots of excitement and my kids are invited to birthdays that are at party places like chuckee cheese and peoples homes with jumpy houses, cotton candy makers...so I agree that it is once a year and I don’t want them to feel like I’m not making it special for them. The kids do love their birthdays so I do elaborate on decorations especially for my daughter because she’s very girly. I go to party city. I did do the dollar tree decorating when they were young and they didn’t care. Of course there are people that can barely afford anything and trying to just have a party is most important to show your love. I know people on welfare that spend more on Birthdays!! $20 really would get us nowhere out here! And what about the adults. Most of the time we combine the Birthday for a big family event and the food costs $$. I had big birthdays as a kid and didn’t turn out spoiled just for the record! I do have great memories though that I will always remember.
Hahaha good advices. You haven't seen a mexican birthday party in Mexico (not Mexicans in USA) oh well, it's almost like a wedding budget and every year with a different theme!! I am too lazy for that but I go to my friend's kids parties and they spend in between 1000 dlls to 4000 dlls aprox. (Middle class families).
So true with everything you said...kids are simple...but they do learn from their parents if the parents talk about how expensive means better the kids would think so...after all whether parents spend a lot or a little by all means it's their choices and we spend on what we budget for....I teach my kids to be frugal and spend on what's needed and choose only one or a few things that they like...whether it's a prize to reward their good behavior or buying for birthday decorations or games... thanks for sharing your ideas and experiences
I think the amount you spend on birthday parties has a lot to do with where you live. We're in an expensive urban area and $200 does not go very far. We have bad weather, small living quarters in high-rises and VERY high taxes on everything. On average I spend about $300-$400 on my kids bdays but I'm lucky that their bdays are 6 days apart and I can combine them. But again $300 does NOT buy me a fancy party at all, it's a basic pizza, juice and grocery store cake kinda party with NO fancy decorations or goody bags.
For my brother and my birthdays, mom would bake and decorate the cake and make Kool aid. She would also make our favorite dinner. It was just immediate family but we had a good time. For gifts, whoever's birthday it was got a bigger gift and the other one got something smaller. She never spent much but we always had a good time.
Thanks for posting this! I was trying to be guilted into spending more money then I felt comfortable for my daughter's birthday. When I said I don't believe in parties every year I was told that I'm neglecting my children. I agree with every single tip. But I have winter babies. So outside isn't an option.
My daughter is turning 9. I only celebrate big years. 10,13,16 and 18. People are trying to guilt me but so what? If there not buying the food don't worry.
Regarding school birthday parties, unfortunately in a lot of schools bringing in homemade treats is no longer an option. Treats must be store bought which does help with allergy issues in the classroom.
thank u guys so much for this info I've been stressing about my daughters 5th bday in my small town houss got some decor at dollar tree cooking on the grill and setting up a sprinkler for the kids and a pinata I would never spend 200 at a party place on a kids party that's ridiculous lol because in two hrs it's all over anyway and 200$ down the drain
That's great advice thanks I will be doing that for my baby when she turns 2 next year. What food ideas would you recommend that will be more on the budget side
You are right on! The only thing the kids will remember is how much fun they had. I can create just as much fun with $20 to $25 dollars as I can with $200. We had family birthdays growing up, as did my mother and her mother too! For the most part my kids parties are no different. They do occasionally have a friend or 2 over. For my daughter's 4th birthday, we had a Dora Treasure Hunt party. I spent less than $20. She's 13th now but she still talks about how much fun she had.
I am so glad I watched this video. for our daughters 1st birthday we didn't have the money to throw a nice party so I just baked her a cake and our neighbors gave her a present. I got lots of pictures and plan to do something really special with them. now her 2nd birthday is coming up and we bought her a few gifts and invitations. its kinda a mixed theme with hello kitty, fall pumkin, and barney because that's her favorite show right now. lol so after watching this video I plan to bake her a cake because just a small professional cake is going to cost around $40! and she loves my pumpkin roll cakes any ways and I was worried about not having enough of people coming to her party but now im convinced that those 8 invitations will be plenty! I had my whole mind around I just want her to have fun and after watching this video I feel that she will have lots of fun with out looking like a million dollars! THANK YOU! im not very good at party planning but hopefully it will be a success!
We do the big parties on significant years and family gatherings the other years. We even still buy the "fancy" decor plates. And I keep it at about 25$ for those dinners.
I agree they will not remember how much you spend on decorations etc.. but they will remember the fun they had with friends! My sons birthday is Dec 26th and I want to do something fun this year! He has really never had a big party.. except with family get togethers at Christmas so this year we have moved it to the summer ! I think he will finally get to enjoy it! Thinking of maybe keeping it simple and having it at the park... any other ideas ??
wow I wish I could spend $20 lol I spend $100 on water slide and like $250 on food not counting cake and. cupcakes bags with treats candy ,, juice,,,chips && a toy and aside decorations plus candy table with chocolate covered treats :-/ and we always have the kids come with ThE parents and siblings lol
We live in an small apartment so we are renting a venue for my daughters 3rd birthday. I'm making decorations and food. I will be using decorations from the past 2 years. For only 2 hours venues are pricey. I believe in making things beautiful and saving money too.
My sister use to spend $100 on party kits. My nephew's 1st birthday was finding memo theme. She had so much stuff left over she finally realized those party kits were a waste of money,they were cute though.
in the late 90's I tried like the dickens to do parties for 150, but rarely got away with less than 300 and usually closer to 400 including presents... i had average sized parties... nowadays i think people plan for 300 and spend 500 LOL ... but, the all time funnest parties were the ones where I set up "homemade" games and activities in the backyard... like one year I had an empty bedroom and we turned it into a space adventure room with a strobe light... the kids loved it LOL
Video tips actually starting around 5:45 mins and on. I agree to go on a budget when needed to. I have a december baby. Gosh! It's hard to celebrate for/with him because is holiday back to back for our family.
We live in an apartment. No yard. I wish we did. We have a small clubhouse that can not be reserved for parties as it’s open to residents only. We spend more even if we went to a park bcuz of decorations, food, drinks alone. Then it doesn’t help that our family is big on both sides and everyone wants to participate. $20. I wish
You can never go wrong with a simple sleepover and two Little Caesar's pizzas and soda, Otter Pops, and boxed cake mix and frosting from Dollar Tree! Throw in an extra $4 to rent a movie on Amazon (or Redbox, or what have you) and you can keep up to 5 kids entertained for an evening. Doesn't even cost too much and the kids will cherish the memories forever.
Last year I spent over £500 on my son's 5th birthday. 31 kids and it got so expensive. The thing is, he liked it but he's not spoken about his 5th. However, he still talks about his 3rd & 4th party which we spent £100 each. So ridiculous!! This year I have arranged a very low key party and the budget is £50.
My kids birthdays are in winter so this year Im renting a small community Hall which is about a 100 bucks. And buy and make my own stuff. I shop thrift stores and dollar stores for most of my stuff. I like your tips but I wanted more ideas in cheap dinner party food.
Thank you this was helpful we adopted my son n this is our first birthday party for him he will be turning 9 were so excited but l was counting the kids n parents n was getting a little money scared lol but after watching this l do believe l can put on a fun memorable hot wheels party with his own cars n props thanks.🎉👪🤗
I thought I was doing good, but now I am dying!! I only do a big bday party every other year (that means a party with all classmates) and that stops at her 8th bday, which is this Nov. 17th. The years I don't is where we celebrate with family. For her last big party we are doing cosmic bowling/glow in the dark and now that I am knee deep in this. It is SO FREAKING PRICEY just for the bowling alley part!!!! Let alone the led balloons, table covers, UV activated dinnerware, cupcakes, ice cream, the party favors, etc. I am making my own signs for the party, the centerpieces for all tables, the tags for the party favors, etc. HOWEVER, doing that did not save me much more money. I cannot back out now, but thank God this is the last big party where all classmates are invited. Years to come we may just take 1 or 2 close friends out for an awesome day.
I would love to make more instead of store bought but time is also a factor for me. Also the space is hard in covid times and an October birthday in the Northwest is pretty much indoor only so there is space rental
I try to stay frugal by bunching the boys birthdays together (one is in June other July) in general summer birthdays are so much easier. What's tricky is my daughter in February. This year we are going to have a bring your doll tea party let's hope I can keep that under $100
Love Is Free I think I loved it more when we did the fun game and what I call real birthday parties that don't cost too much more than the prizes because you got to have fun making decorations and your parents actually took the time out of their lives to spend the time with you honestly time is priceless and when your kids grow up they'll know that you paid to go the easy route teach them moral values by giving them time not Financial need
Long ago, I grew up in a blue-collar urban area. This is how kids celebrated their birthdays: first a cake, usually, but not always decorated with Happy Birthday (name) and maybe a few roses of frosting. Sometimes homemade, sometimes store bought. No themes. No decorations. You would get to choose your favorite dinner. Your parents would give you one, yes only one! gift. Perhaps aunt, or grandparents or godparents would send you a birthday card with some cash, which back then would have at most been $5. And that was a lot of money! (At that time candy bars were 10 cents). My mother gave me one small birthday party when I was 7. Most of my friends never ever had a birthday party. Somehow, we all lived.
My sister in law just threw a small Easter party. It was my nephew, his mom, and dad. (3). It was also her sister, her 2 kids, the kids father. (4). My other nephew, my mom, and I. (3). And her best friend. (1). So we were a total of 11 people. They brought 4 pizzas, cupcakes, caprisun juices, a piñata, and of course Easter eggs and candies. I believe the total was about 100 dollars. I think the trick is in only inviting the closest family members. Edit: There were no birthday presents because it was not a birthday. I want to do one for Mother's Day, but I think I will also need to buy presents.
Also I started saving decorations in a box to reuse... I buy some character ones and some colorful ones... anything you don't use can be stored for next time
We've always just bought a package somewhere because weather is unpredictable in March. First day of Spring birthday is hard! But for 10, we went big. Now she wants it every year... And so do her friends. Oops, sorry Moms! But it was a fun day, or 2 considering it went from 11am until 6pm the next day. Thank you Little Ceases for $5 pizzas.
We usually have the kids parties at a park or the bay...Our invitations always included the whole family...I had usually made themed coloring pages and had a few games that the kids could do while we waited for everyone to arrive. Usually the kids just want to play in the sand or fly kites or run around with boffer swords (pool noodles). We'd also try to set up near a good climbing tree ... One family had two birthday parties to go to that day so they had just come from another birthday party. Apparently the first party scheduled to the minute and they were running behind on all the games and activities they had planned so the hostess was feeling stressed which made the guests stressed! She said it was nice to be able to just relax and enjoy the party! DawnM : )
I swear i did my best to spend less but my husband goes crazy and doesn't listen to OptOut certain things. This is my 7 year old ONLY huge first bday and will not get one again until 18. We so far spend over 600 and we invited only close friends and little family. We are latín so is like the whole block too lol.
For 2 year old birthday we spent $60 their was 40 pepper there 10 was kids. We have 80 percent diabetics so we got a small cake for $8 , gluten free brownie, one sugar free dessert, and deluxe taco bar and pop and water. Plates, decor for unicorns. And we paid $15 for her gift and we probably got $275 worth of gifts
u said kids will not know the difference some kids do trust me. I seen kids very upscale and needy . spoiled rotten. I don't go over $50 unless big big big birthdays .. not everyone has baking skills or decorating cakes. winter kids are also much harder too
If you can't afford a party you can't afford it.. but taking the birthday girl or boy out to their favourite fun place for the day with their favourite meal they would still enjoy!
I totally agree with you, I think the poorest people spend the most money. I can see a nice bigger party at maybe 10 (going into double digits) 16 is another big one and 18th or 21st. Maybe spend a bit more or go to a nice restaurant or something with a couple friends. Keep doing what you're doing. They should maybe put some of those hundreds of dollars in the bank for their kids future. I'm just saying.
I went to 2 birthday parties recently... one was low budget and had lots of games with dollar store prices and treats... the other was a fancy party... the cake alone she said was 160$(and it was tiny and gross... looked amazing tho Fortnite theme) and tons of decorations and expensive food... the kids were so bored cuz they didn't have anything planned... gathering for the parents basically... birthday boy was watching TV and ignoring his guests lol my kid was playing alone with another kid from school (6 yr olds) lol it was so boring... my kid remembers the fun birthday party so I'm learning low budget with games is the way to go... as long as kids have fun that's all that matters
My sons First birthday is next month. I started off great getting all my plates, forks, Little party decor etc all for $30 at dollar but I started spending more thinking I need more fancy decor. I’ve spent almost $100 and that doesn’t include the cake, food, and plus I have to buy a helium tank . UGHH maybe next year I will budget much better 😕
Spend almost 200 just on decorations LOL presents, cake, food, gift bags and pinata loaded with chocolate not included in that total... I'm curious to see what I can do to cut that cost down
I spent $100 on a gender reveal just for cake chips drinks and a couple of decorations (table cloths, balloons...) simple minimal. I need this video 🙈 But then my "immediate" family is 25-30 people 😕
What is the most you have spent on a child's birthday party? Get more ideas and tips here. www.livingonadime.com/kids-birthday-parties-2/
Living On A Dime $950 went to a place and more kids showed up that did not RSVP so I was left with a big bill.
65😬
Honestly $500 because of a bouncy house
Honestly every year cost us about $800-900$ for our lil girls bday party. We invite family from both sides and also friends from work. The pinata alone cost us 300/350 since we put candies and toys then comes food tables chairs jumber and gift.
@@angelgarza3937 We bought a small jump house for under $200 and the chairs and tables all under $200 also so we only have to buy food and party favors for the next few years when we celebrate at home. So much nicer that way! Parties can get extravagant. As long as you can afford it though. ☺ God bless
in the hispanic community it's like $300.00 to $500.00 just on food then you add tables , chairs, jumper, candy, and some people get game trucks
Ohh yeah! And that's cheap cus not all the family members could attend. 🤣🤣
Yesss same
So true, and it's just with family and really close friends.
haha yes same with us asians, cuz family members are 50 in all 😂..we have close family ties.. family first. fun times.. potluck is way to go
Our basic close circle family is close to 60 hahaha
I spend an embarrassing amount of money on my kids' gifts, party decorations, food, & favors but it is my hobby. I loooove the planning!! My older kids love the memories from their parties. I make a lot of things & that gets spendy too. I also get things at yard sales & thrift stores. It's fun for me.
There are a ton of frugal party ideas & kids don't care if they have homemade cakes & dollar store balloons or a $90 three tier cake cake & a petting zoo... Just as long as you make them feel special. That being said.. Do what works best for you & yours & have fun.
jacintamrsdarcy i am a person to think about all the lilttle details I love planning how can you do so not spending money?
Morena Suarez I think if you want a detailed party and want to save money, the best way to go is start planning 6+ months in advance. That way you can pick up little things here and there and not have to buy everything at once. Keep an eye out for things at yard sales and thrift stores. Also, check out Pinterest for decorating ideas. I've gotten sooo many comments just by decorating with streamers, balloons, table cloths and tissue paper. Takes a long to to get everything put up but they really go a long way if you want them to, and they're super cheap! I decorated the day before, even two days before. I've made a huge castle out of cardboard boxes, a rainbow canopy, giant flowers, balloon arches, my own pinatas, games, and lots more. Use your imagination & creativity. Or Pinterest lol. Have fun!!
jacintamrsdarcy hey there! I also love planning my future too! I like to plan what I should buy, plan how I should spend my summer, and some other things that your probably plan. It's good to know that there are so people like me in the world.
jacintamrsdarcy please share all these wonderful ideas
I loooooooooooooove planning my birthday parties and I have since i was 8 im 10 now so yeah.
When I was little my mom always made a homemade chocolate double layer cake for my birthday. We just had the cake after supper as a family. Once we were older mom started buying store bought cakes and it just wasn't the same. I was happier having mom's homemade cake.
Watching this as I blow up my dollar store balloons for my daughter's first at home birthday party tomorrow.. and I finished making her cake yesterday! 😄 I personally think good ol' traditional birthday parties at the birthday boy's/girl's home are the most memorable and enjoyable for the kiddos. I've been over thinking activities to do with them.. and I realized they'll probably just play with the stuff we have (bikes/scooters in the basement, marble runs, dress up clothes etc.).
Tawra and Jill, I absolutely love this video with all my heart. I had the best birthday parties as a young girl and my mom threw me them similar to what you're talking about. They were simple, sweet, and filled with lots of love. Looking back I see all the effort she put in to make a special day for me on our family's tight budget. I never felt slighted and in fact have more appreciation for her creativeness with little money. ...best birthday memories ever 💕
My son is a single father living on a budget and we are planning a low cost but fun party, I bake cakes better than any store around us can make and I agree you do not have to spend a bunch of money to make children happy..This year we are using your treasure hunt idea..thank you!
So incredibly helpful!! Ive been so over stressed about this and feeling like my $$$$ wasnt enough, but yall brought me back down to earth. Thanks a million!
I never spent large amounts of money on my kids bday parties when they were small. I normally went to Dollar Tree for party supplies such as balloons, streamers, wrapping paper etc, got an inexpensive cake (whatever was on sale in the bakery or made it myself), and then served fun kid food like hotdogs, homemade pizza, punch etc
deborah r i live at dollar tree lol
I totally agree with you!! I have two children and I can't afford making them an expensive party every year... I do invite 35 kids and I give them ham sandwiches and a piñata I don't fill their goodie bags they do with what they get from the piñata... And I also get everything from the dollar stores and dollar tree has really good decorations and a variety of balloons and I spend $50 and it's a 3 hr party
My mom just passed out cupcakes in class and that was our party. My sisters and I use to love it! My son is turning 1next week and if I can spend $20 on it you are my new best friend.
I love your point of view. Thank you so much for sharing. It's true, children don't have a good sense of money nor do they really care how much is spent. It's all about how much FUN they had. We, as parents should not get "stucked in" having a very expensive party. We need to have a BACK Bone and stand firm on this. God bless you all.
Love it! I totally agree. And, our older, adult kids are not emotionally scarred from having inexpensive birthday celebrations. They are pretty well adjusted men.
I love how all your advice is partnered with helpful tips. I'm not a great saver or the best at conserving but (I won't tell you the embarrassing amount I spent on my kids 4th birthday this year) I don't feel judged I feel helped and supported. Thank you!
Thank you!
100% agree with you on this, I think it's utterly silly what some parents spend on kids parties. We need to go back to the old days of kids parties and stop over spending on things x
I love the video, I agree you can have a great party for kids on a small amount of money. I think a lot of parents do up some of these parties for show, for themselves not for the kids !
I completely agree with this! I grew up with small family gatherings, immediate family only. my 16th was my big party.
I couldn't agree more. Of the few birthday parties I had for my 4 kids I did most of it with what was on hand. I cooked everything we had myself ( I did it all the time anyway ) with the exception of a 16th birthday and between my two girls they invited around 30 kids from school. They had a ball! It was centred around music, I was the dj and we had a playlist and did requests. They each had a Mud Cake and Pizza! I loved it and so did they!
Thank you for sharing.. hosting a lot of people and spending hundreds of dollars isn't always worth it.. My little boy is more excited to have a modest birthday with his 2 siblings and us (parents) with a homemade cake, dollar store decor, their stuffys in party hats, and a gift 🎁 We did a huge birthday party back to back 1 month apart for my daughter and son and we learned our lesson real quick, some of our guests (family) even had some negative comments and it was not as fun as we anticipated because all you do is host, entertain and clean all day... I'm happy being on a budget and our family is happier living a more simple & meaningful time. Milestone birthdays may be more extravagant but that's a decision on each family and very personal how it's celebrated.
You certainly don't have to spend a lot on birthday parties...buuuut... I spent an average of $200 to $300 on both of my children's parties. But I saved up for it throughout the year for these parties. I also bout things for the parties during the year. My son was born 2 weeks after Halloween ad my daughter was born 2 weeks after Valentine's day... so I would go out the day after the holiday and get the candy for 50 to 75% off for their pinatas, party supplies were on huge discounts tool. We would have an average of 30+ people.I owuldn't have changed any of them for anything. These were events everyone looked forward to .
great point about loving kids away from materialism! thanks!
I do agree this can work for kids probably 5 and under. Once they start getting older they are more aware of what they want and will get bored easily. My daughter is turning 8 and she special requests her unicorn decor birthday and wants jumpy houses or destination birthdays like chuckee cheese. My other son is the same, I mentioned a Park Birthday party when he was 8 or 9 and he looked at me crazy! He said the park is boring for a Birthday. Some might think that sounds spoiled...but realistically my kids go to the park with friends all during the year, we go to movies and restaurants. We live in California with lots of excitement and my kids are invited to birthdays that are at party places like chuckee cheese and peoples homes with jumpy houses, cotton candy makers...so I agree that it is once a year and I don’t want them to feel like I’m not making it special for them. The kids do love their birthdays so I do elaborate on decorations especially for my daughter because she’s very girly. I go to party city. I did do the dollar tree decorating when they were young and they didn’t care. Of course there are people that can barely afford anything and trying to just have a party is most important to show your love. I know people on welfare that spend more on Birthdays!! $20 really would get us nowhere out here! And what about the adults. Most of the time we combine the Birthday for a big family event and the food costs $$. I had big birthdays as a kid and didn’t turn out spoiled just for the record! I do have great memories though that I will always remember.
I absolutely love this! I'm a single mother of two amazing daughters! They world much rather have the most spent on presents..not decorations etc..
Hahaha good advices. You haven't seen a mexican birthday party in Mexico (not Mexicans in USA) oh well, it's almost like a wedding budget and every year with a different theme!! I am too lazy for that but I go to my friend's kids parties and they spend in between 1000 dlls to 4000 dlls aprox. (Middle class families).
I wish I would've known this before I spent almost $500!!
That was me the first couple birthdays... I'm learning now lol focus more on games... games are free and fun
So true with everything you said...kids are simple...but they do learn from their parents if the parents talk about how expensive means better the kids would think so...after all whether parents spend a lot or a little by all means it's their choices and we spend on what we budget for....I teach my kids to be frugal and spend on what's needed and choose only one or a few things that they like...whether it's a prize to reward their good behavior or buying for birthday decorations or games... thanks for sharing your ideas and experiences
I think the amount you spend on birthday parties has a lot to do with where you live. We're in an expensive urban area and $200 does not go very far. We have bad weather, small living quarters in high-rises and VERY high taxes on everything. On average I spend about $300-$400 on my kids bdays but I'm lucky that their bdays are 6 days apart and I can combine them. But again $300 does NOT buy me a fancy party at all, it's a basic pizza, juice and grocery store cake kinda party with NO fancy decorations or goody bags.
For my brother and my birthdays, mom would bake and decorate the cake and make Kool aid. She would also make our favorite dinner. It was just immediate family but we had a good time. For gifts, whoever's birthday it was got a bigger gift and the other one got something smaller. She never spent much but we always had a good time.
Thanks for posting this! I was trying to be guilted into spending more money then I felt comfortable for my daughter's birthday. When I said I don't believe in parties every year I was told that I'm neglecting my children. I agree with every single tip. But I have winter babies. So outside isn't an option.
Maya Wallace you can do a sledding party
My daughter is turning 9. I only celebrate big years. 10,13,16 and 18. People are trying to guilt me but so what? If there not buying the food don't worry.
141 Adults went into debt at Chuck E Cheeses for their kids lol.
John price would be sad
I agree. A child's birthday party doesn't need micro managed. Let the kids do a game or two and let them hang out.
I spend over $300-500 per birthday. Thank you , this year my budget chance , definitely I am looking for a cheap birthday party
Regarding school birthday parties, unfortunately in a lot of schools bringing in homemade treats is no longer an option. Treats must be store bought which does help with allergy issues in the classroom.
You ladies are so wise & practical!
thank u guys so much for this info I've been stressing about my daughters 5th bday in my small town houss got some decor at dollar tree cooking on the grill and setting up a sprinkler for the kids and a pinata I would never spend 200 at a party place on a kids party that's ridiculous lol because in two hrs it's all over anyway and 200$ down the drain
I love this. I'm learning for small kids especially... a lot of money just isn't necessary
That's great advice thanks I will be doing that for my baby when she turns 2 next year. What food ideas would you recommend that will be more on the budget side
You are right on! The only thing the kids will remember is how much fun they had. I can create just as much fun with $20 to $25 dollars as I can with $200. We had family birthdays growing up, as did my mother and her mother too! For the most part my kids parties are no different. They do occasionally have a friend or 2 over. For my daughter's 4th birthday, we had a Dora Treasure Hunt party. I spent less than $20. She's 13th now but she still talks about how much fun she had.
Thank you so much for the tips! I will be doing this for my kids future birthdays lol .
I am so glad I watched this video. for our daughters 1st birthday we didn't have the money to throw a nice party so I just baked her a cake and our neighbors gave her a present. I got lots of pictures and plan to do something really special with them. now her 2nd birthday is coming up and we bought her a few gifts and invitations. its kinda a mixed theme with hello kitty, fall pumkin, and barney because that's her favorite show right now. lol so after watching this video I plan to bake her a cake because just a small professional cake is going to cost around $40! and she loves my pumpkin roll cakes any ways and I was worried about not having enough of people coming to her party but now im convinced that those 8 invitations will be plenty! I had my whole mind around I just want her to have fun and after watching this video I feel that she will have lots of fun with out looking like a million dollars! THANK YOU! im not very good at party planning but hopefully it will be a success!
We do the big parties on significant years and family gatherings the other years. We even still buy the "fancy" decor plates. And I keep it at about 25$ for those dinners.
Love the ideas you have given about keeping Birthday Party expenses affordable!
I'm a first time mom. my son's 3rd birthday is on Saturday and it's my first party.
thank-you for your help.
Any tips for winter birthdays? Too cold for park and too claustrophobic in my condo?
How many kids are you having? I would think 3-4 would be fine for a condo.
I agree they will not remember how much you spend on decorations etc.. but they will remember the fun they had with friends! My sons birthday is Dec 26th and I want to do something fun this year! He has really never had a big party.. except with family get togethers at Christmas so this year we have moved it to the summer ! I think he will finally get to enjoy it! Thinking of maybe keeping it simple and having it at the park... any other ideas ??
wow I wish I could spend $20 lol I spend $100 on water slide and like $250 on food not counting cake and. cupcakes bags with treats candy ,, juice,,,chips && a toy and aside decorations plus candy table with chocolate covered treats
:-/ and we always have the kids come with ThE parents and siblings lol
lizly I agree.
I love it!! Yea I do too. Love dollar tree and know what I can afford!
We live in an small apartment so we are renting a venue for my daughters 3rd birthday. I'm making decorations and food. I will be using decorations from the past 2 years. For only 2 hours venues are pricey. I believe in making things beautiful and saving money too.
Before I watched this I spent $1500 on my kids party but when I watched this I only spent $15 on my kids birthday
I spent over 1,000 on my son's first birthday party OMG, I needed to watch this
Pinterest really ruined simple humble birthdays for this generation
My sister use to spend $100 on party kits. My nephew's 1st birthday was finding memo theme. She had so much stuff left over she finally realized those party kits were a waste of money,they were cute though.
in the late 90's I tried like the dickens to do parties for 150, but rarely got away with less than 300 and usually closer to 400 including presents... i had average sized parties... nowadays i think people plan for 300 and spend 500 LOL ... but, the all time funnest parties were the ones where I set up "homemade" games and activities in the backyard... like one year I had an empty bedroom and we turned it into a space adventure room with a strobe light... the kids loved it LOL
Sounds good to me. I've only thrown 6 birthdays so far. But all you need is just a homemade cake, drinks, and ice cream. balloons, cups, plates
Great advice!
Video tips actually starting around 5:45 mins and on. I agree to go on a budget when needed to. I have a december baby. Gosh! It's hard to celebrate for/with him because is holiday back to back for our family.
Morena Suarez Totally agree my Sophia 12-5-11. Please shares any tips
We live in an apartment. No yard. I wish we did. We have a small clubhouse that can not be reserved for parties as it’s open to residents only. We spend more even if we went to a park bcuz of decorations, food, drinks alone. Then it doesn’t help that our family is big on both sides and everyone wants to participate. $20. I wish
You can never go wrong with a simple sleepover and two Little Caesar's pizzas and soda, Otter Pops, and boxed cake mix and frosting from Dollar Tree! Throw in an extra $4 to rent a movie on Amazon (or Redbox, or what have you) and you can keep up to 5 kids entertained for an evening. Doesn't even cost too much and the kids will cherish the memories forever.
4:36 it is crazy but with the way schools are now with food allergies now most schools wont let parents have kids have cupcakes or a cake
Last year I spent over £500 on my son's 5th birthday. 31 kids and it got so expensive. The thing is, he liked it but he's not spoken about his 5th. However, he still talks about his 3rd & 4th party which we spent £100 each. So ridiculous!! This year I have arranged a very low key party and the budget is £50.
My kids birthdays are in winter so this year Im renting a small community Hall which is about a 100 bucks. And buy and make my own stuff. I shop thrift stores and dollar stores for most of my stuff. I like your tips but I wanted more ideas in cheap dinner party food.
Thank you this was helpful we adopted my son n this is our first birthday party for him he will be turning 9 were so excited but l was counting the kids n parents n was getting a little money scared lol but after watching this l do believe l can put on a fun memorable hot wheels party with his own cars n props thanks.🎉👪🤗
Well said! I agree.
I agree with the lady in this video, but my wife always rents a party room at a local kid zone, trampoline place, etc and the cost is ridiculous!!!!
I thought I was doing good, but now I am dying!! I only do a big bday party every other year (that means a party with all classmates) and that stops at her 8th bday, which is this Nov. 17th. The years I don't is where we celebrate with family. For her last big party we are doing cosmic bowling/glow in the dark and now that I am knee deep in this. It is SO FREAKING PRICEY just for the bowling alley part!!!! Let alone the led balloons, table covers, UV activated dinnerware, cupcakes, ice cream, the party favors, etc.
I am making my own signs for the party, the centerpieces for all tables, the tags for the party favors, etc. HOWEVER, doing that did not save me much more money.
I cannot back out now, but thank God this is the last big party where all classmates are invited. Years to come we may just take 1 or 2 close friends out for an awesome day.
I would love to make more instead of store bought but time is also a factor for me. Also the space is hard in covid times and an October birthday in the Northwest is pretty much indoor only so there is space rental
I try to stay frugal by bunching the boys birthdays together (one is in June other July) in general summer birthdays are so much easier. What's tricky is my daughter in February. This year we are going to have a bring your doll tea party let's hope I can keep that under $100
Love Is Free I think I loved it more when we did the fun game and what I call real birthday parties that don't cost too much more than the prizes because you got to have fun making decorations and your parents actually took the time out of their lives to spend the time with you honestly time is priceless and when your kids grow up they'll know that you paid to go the easy route teach them moral values by giving them time not Financial need
i completely agree with you. thanks for the ideas
Love this thank you! Yes it's about kids not the money
Long ago, I grew up in a blue-collar urban area. This is how kids celebrated their birthdays: first a cake, usually, but not always decorated with Happy Birthday (name) and maybe a few roses of frosting. Sometimes homemade, sometimes store bought. No themes. No decorations. You would get to choose your favorite dinner. Your parents would give you one, yes only one! gift. Perhaps aunt, or grandparents or godparents would send you a birthday card with some cash, which back then would have at most been $5. And that was a lot of money! (At that time candy bars were 10 cents). My mother gave me one small birthday party when I was 7. Most of my friends never ever had a birthday party. Somehow, we all lived.
True. Hardly anyone bakes a cake from scratch anymore. I love making my kids birthday cakes though! I hope they always remember. ~Janelle
So well said❤
Add some fun to any kids party with songs from WeeSing! (and a little nostalgia for the parents!)
My sister in law just threw a small Easter party. It was my nephew, his mom, and dad. (3). It was also her sister, her 2 kids, the kids father. (4). My other nephew, my mom, and I. (3). And her best friend. (1). So we were a total of 11 people. They brought 4 pizzas, cupcakes, caprisun juices, a piñata, and of course Easter eggs and candies. I believe the total was about 100 dollars. I think the trick is in only inviting the closest family members.
Edit: There were no birthday presents because it was not a birthday. I want to do one for Mother's Day, but I think I will also need to buy presents.
wow $25 that's awesome I've spend so much on her first birthday and 2nd I need ideas for her 3rd birthday. the less the beetrer so thanks.
Do you do good bags for the birthday party
Also I started saving decorations in a box to reuse... I buy some character ones and some colorful ones... anything you don't use can be stored for next time
We've always just bought a package somewhere because weather is unpredictable in March. First day of Spring birthday is hard! But for 10, we went big. Now she wants it every year... And so do her friends. Oops, sorry Moms! But it was a fun day, or 2 considering it went from 11am until 6pm the next day. Thank you Little Ceases for $5 pizzas.
We usually have the kids parties at a park or the bay...Our invitations always included the whole family...I had usually made themed coloring pages and had a few games that the kids could do while we waited for everyone to arrive.
Usually the kids just want to play in the sand or fly kites or run around with boffer swords (pool noodles). We'd also try to set up near a good climbing tree ...
One family had two birthday parties to go to that day so they had just come from another birthday party. Apparently the first party scheduled to the minute and they were running behind on all the games and activities they had planned so the hostess was feeling stressed which made the guests stressed!
She said it was nice to be able to just relax and enjoy the party!
DawnM : )
I love your way of thinking. Thank you for this
I swear i did my best to spend less but my husband goes crazy and doesn't listen to OptOut certain things. This is my 7 year old ONLY huge first bday and will not get one again until 18. We so far spend over 600 and we invited only close friends and little family. We are latín so is like the whole block too lol.
Way to go ladies!!! You are my idol 😘
Amen! Bless you!!
thank you
This was great advice!! So helpful, thank youso much!
I spend $600 on my son's 2nd birthday party last year. I big portion of the money went into renting a place to have the party at.
I was crying the other day literally crying tears because I couldn’t give my son the birthday party he wanted
I agree w/ all y'all said
For 2 year old birthday we spent $60 their was 40 pepper there 10 was kids. We have 80 percent diabetics so we got a small cake for $8 , gluten free brownie, one sugar free dessert, and deluxe taco bar and pop and water. Plates, decor for unicorns. And we paid $15 for her gift and we probably got $275 worth of gifts
u said kids will not know the difference some kids do trust me. I seen kids very upscale and needy . spoiled rotten. I don't go over $50 unless big big big birthdays .. not everyone has baking skills or decorating cakes. winter kids are also much harder too
Bravo
Very helpful. Thank you!
Beautiful cake, Love your ideas.
If you can't afford a party you can't afford it.. but taking the birthday girl or boy out to their favourite fun place for the day with their favourite meal they would still enjoy!
I totally agree with you, I think the poorest people spend the most money. I can see a nice bigger party at maybe 10 (going into double digits) 16 is another big one and 18th or 21st. Maybe spend a bit more or go to a nice restaurant or something with a couple friends. Keep doing what you're doing. They should maybe put some of those hundreds of dollars in the bank for their kids future. I'm just saying.
I went to 2 birthday parties recently... one was low budget and had lots of games with dollar store prices and treats... the other was a fancy party... the cake alone she said was 160$(and it was tiny and gross... looked amazing tho Fortnite theme) and tons of decorations and expensive food... the kids were so bored cuz they didn't have anything planned... gathering for the parents basically... birthday boy was watching TV and ignoring his guests lol my kid was playing alone with another kid from school (6 yr olds) lol it was so boring... my kid remembers the fun birthday party so I'm learning low budget with games is the way to go... as long as kids have fun that's all that matters
My sons First birthday is next month. I started off great getting all my plates, forks, Little party decor etc all for $30 at dollar but I started spending more thinking I need more fancy decor. I’ve spent almost $100 and that doesn’t include the cake, food, and plus I have to buy a helium tank . UGHH maybe next year I will budget much better 😕
Spend almost 200 just on decorations LOL presents, cake, food, gift bags and pinata loaded with chocolate not included in that total... I'm curious to see what I can do to cut that cost down
I spent $100 on a gender reveal just for cake chips drinks and a couple of decorations (table cloths, balloons...) simple minimal. I need this video 🙈 But then my "immediate" family is 25-30 people 😕
Love This!!!!! I am the same way!!!